A disappointing afternoon at Ewood Park culminated in Rovers tumbling to their fourth successive defeat, for the first time under the management of Tony Mowbray, as Tony Pulis’ playoff-chasing Middlesbrough came to Rovers’ backyard and dominated their way to victory, during the 1pm kick-off, in-front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Ahead of the big lunchtime clash, Rovers made 4 changes before the clash with the North-East side. Derrick Williams, Harrison Reed, Bradley Dack and Danny Graham all came into the starting-11 as Wednesday’s goalscorer Amari’i Bell, Lewis Travis, Richie Smallwood and Craig Conway all made their way onto the bench, in a shuffled Rovers line-up.
Prior to kick-off, a minute of applause was held in memory of former World Cup winner Gordon Banks and former Rovers forward Fred Pickering, both of whom sadly passed away last week.
As the 13,249 fans who were inside Ewood Park, prepared themselves for the game, it was Rovers who kicked-off, in the hope of quelling their poor February form against a large scalp in the division.
The tie started lively with several tackles flying in, as well as crosses and long-throws into the box – mostly from Middlesbrough – which were cleared by Rovers.
The first opportunity at goal came on the 7th minute, through former Chelsea midfielder and Champions League winner, John Obi Mikel, who had signed for Pulis’ side for free on 24th January. The Nigerian international, who captained the Super Eagles during the 2018 World Cup, managed to line-up a fierce shot from the edge of the area, after the ball had deflected out to him. Although the 31-year old’s strike was a clean one, his effort was blocked away, seemingly by the arm of Corry Evans, as referee Darren Bond waved play on.
A couple of minutes later, the away sides’ dominance grew over the game, which led to their second chance of the afternoon which should have really seen them take the lead. A cross from the right-hand side by Lewis Wing was lofted onto the head of the marginally offside, but unmarked Ashley Fletcher, who had peeled off the back of Jack Rodwell. Despite the flag not going up, Fletcher who had bags of time, saw his header loop into the arms of David Raya, who claimed comfortably.
With Rovers struggling to get out of first gear, and Boro gradually increasing their hold on the game by the minute, Rovers soon cracked on the 19th minute, which allowed the visiting side to take a 1-0 lead, courtesy of some suspect defending by Charlie Mulgrew and some natural poaching instinct by Rovers’ apparent January target, Britt Assombalonga. A hopeful long ball forwards by Dael Fry saw the Rovers skipper miss the ball on the bounce, which allowed Fletcher to capitalise. After the 23-year old forward took control of the ball, he was able to skip past Jack Rodwell and release a shot which deflected off the diving Mulgrew, before landing to Assombalonga who calmly nodded the ball into the back of the open net from point-blank range to give his side the 1-0 advantage.
4 minutes after gaining the lead, the away side tried to quickly double their advantage through Lewis Wing’s snapshot. The midfielder’s curling effort on the turn had too much power to fall on target, as the ball ended up in the Blackburn End.
After 33 minutes had passed, the first booking of the game appeared after Jack Rodwell clattered into Boro’s goalscorer Assombalonga.
Minutes later, Fletcher again had a chance to double his team’s advantage, but saw his effort fly wide. After dispossessing Rovers, Middlesbrough drove forwards with Lewis Wing, who exchanged passes with Fletcher until the latter was able to conjure up a shooting opportunity. Despite being tightly pressured by Mulgrew and Dack, Fletcher’s shot ended up hitting the side-netting, rather than sneaking in at the front-post, as Rovers earnt a goal-kick.
A minute later, a lacklustre effort by Muhamed Bešić rolled into the hands of David Raya, which continued the barrage of attacks from the away side.
After Bešić’s attempt, the game fizzled out with Middlesbrough firmly in control of possession, before bursting into life minutes before referee Darren Bond called time on the first-half.
On the 44th minute, Rovers saw their first half-chance of the game created as a cross by Elliott Bennett, aimed towards Danny Graham was nodded behind by the retreating George Friend who conceded a corner which led to a Boro free-kick after Rovers had fouled in the area.
From the free-kick, disaster struck for Mowbray’s men, as they were soon reduced to 10, following a red card to Derrick Williams. Darren Randolph’s punt forwards was misjudged by Mulgrew who accidentally flicked the ball behind him into Ashley Fletcher’s path. The forward took the ball into his stride before running past Rodwell and through on goal before Williams forced him to the ground without making contact iwht the ball, which left Mr. Bond no option but to give the left-back his marching orders.
The central free-kick which arose from the foul was taken by Wing, which cannoned back off the wall before the whistle for half-time was soon blown.
As the half-time break commenced, there would have been varying levels of emotion throughout both dressing rooms over the course of the 15-minute pause.
Tony Mowbray would have rightfully been furious with his side, following their dismal first 45 minutes which saw them offer up little to no attacking threat. Additionally, the anger would have been exaggerated as a result of the late red card, which would have dissolved any tactical alterations that Mowbray would have had in mind, due to him not having his full complement of players.
In the dressing room parallel, Tony Pulis would have been somewhat pleased that his side had dominated the game. Although they should have arguably been ahead by more than the single goal, the playoff-chasers were doing enough to nullify Rovers’ well-known home threat, in addition to pleasing their 1,052 fans that had made the near-100-mile journey down to Ewood Park.
Middlesbrough returned earlier than Rovers for the second-half, as they prepared to take the kick-off in the hope of seeing out the win, in an effort to rebound following their midweek 1-0 loss away at Bramall Lane against Sheffield United.
Before Boro had a chance to restart the tie, Rovers went for the jugular, by making all of their changes during the break. The booked Jack Rodwell, Corry Evans and Ben Brereton all didn’t return for the second 45 minutes as Ryan Nyambe, Lewis Travis and Amari’i Bell took their respective places, as Rovers switched to a 4-3-2 formation with Elliott Bennett and Amari’i Bell either side of Charlie Mulgrew and Ryan Nyambe, whilst Harrison Reed, Bradley Dack and Lewis Travis occupied the midfield behind Danny Graham and Adam Armstrong.
Following Rovers’ triple change, Boro kicked-off for the second 45 minutes with the intent, following Rovers’ abysmal first-half performance, on killing the game off as quickly as possible.
It took a minute for the visiting team’s shots at goal to resume, as Ashley Fletcher’s tame effort from just inside Rovers’ box rolled into the gloves of Raya.
Seconds later, Wing tried his luck from around 25-yards out with a ferocious strike from Fletcher’s knockdown, but the former Yeovil Town loanee saw his thunderbolt crash off the crossbar before being cleared.
Rovers, on the 52nd minute, nearly – albeit clumsily – found themselves level after some fragile Boro defending by long-throw expert Ryan Shotton nearly saw the ball wrong-foot his ‘keeper Darren Randolph and roll into the back of the net. An early cross from the left-hand side by Amari’i Bell towards the alert Danny Graham, saw Shotton take action as he hurled himself at the ball, before agonisingly poking it behind for a Rovers corner, which was soon cleared.
On the hour mark, Mulgrew found himself on the right-wing with a free-kick ready to fire. The skipper’s cross into the penalty area was a good one which met the head of Bradley Dack, however the prolific attacking midfielder nodded wide.
From the stoppage in play, Boro made their first alteration of the game as George Friend, who had received treatment for a leg injury minutes prior, was removed and replaced by former Manchester United youth prospect, Paddy McNair.
Boro used their 11 men wisely on the 62nd minute as they found a free man to have a shot on goal. Lewis Wing’s solid display continued as he found George Saville who was free, just inside the Rovers box. The former Millwall man, after receiving the ball, took a touch to steady himself before seeing his shot deflect behind for a corner – which was cleared – by Ryan Nyambe.
With 20 minutes to go, Assombalonga tried to double his tally with a swivel, followed by a shot, however the Congolese international’s strike was lost between the empty seats of the Darwen End.
From the restart, Danny Graham had the ball in the Middlesbrough box after some impressive ball control by Armstrong saw the latter play the former through. Although his angles were tight, Graham released a speculative effort that nestled into the side-netting, much to the dismay of everyone in Blue and White.
Jonny Howson, a minute later, nearly caused David Raya some embarrassment, when the Spaniard was forced to tip the former Norwich man’s cross over the bar.
Following the clearing of the corner, Stewart Downing was brought on by Tony Pulis, to replace Muhamed Bešić.
On the 78th minute, Danny Graham had a golden chance to put Rovers level but managed to blast his effort high and wide. After having the ball played into his path by Dack, the experienced forward took a touch before trying to find the near-post. Despite potentially having a case for a penalty, had he gone down, due to a kick to the thigh by Shotton, the forward decided to follow his natural instincts in order to find the equaliser, but unfortunately for the former Boro man, the ball, which had bounced up to his shin, flew wide of the mark.
Seconds later, up the other end, Fletcher had a chance to kill the game after some poor possession by Rovers set up the 23-year old. Britt Assombalonga’s pressure forced Elliott Bennett into passing the ball straight to Lewis Wing, who threaded in the free Fletcher. The forward managed to have enough time to compose himself with a touch before hitting a left-footed effort which curled directly into the gloves of Rovers’ Spanish shot-stopper.
Soon after that save, Tony Pulis made his final change by withdrawing Ashley Fletcher and replacing him with former Preston North End forward, Jordan Hugill.
Wing again was on the scene with another volley after 82 minutes, but the former non-league midfielder saw his effort balloon over the crossbar.
The 83rd minute brought about Rovers’ first shot on target – an unusual feat for this usually prolific side – as Mulgrew, Graham and Dack all combined to produce a fabulous save from Boro ‘keeper Randolph. The Scot’s free-kick from just inside the Rovers half was hurled into the box towards Graham who was strong enough to overpower Dael Fry and John Obi Mikel in order to nod the ball across the face of goal into Dack’s feet. Rovers’ top goalscorer wasted no time, after receiving the knockdown, as his first-time effort saw the shot-stopper produce a strong right-handed save using his reflexes to deny Dack the equaliser.
Downing tried his luck with his trusty right-foot from 25-yards out a couple of minutes later, but his effort dragged wide of the Rovers goal.
Raya in the Rovers goal wasn’t to be outdone by his Middlesbrough counterpart at the other end, as he also, this time on the 88th minute, produce a world-class save of his own in order to deny Assombalonga, following Boro’s lethal counter-attack. After Rovers were dispossessed on halfway, Boro steamrolled forwards with Howson, who saw the Boro goalscorer in space, and found him. Assombalonga managed to freely bring the ball down and find Saville who sent the ball back to the Congoloese international who struck the ball first-time at a sprawling Raya. The shotstopper, despite having defenders around him showcased his quality reflexes, positioning, speed and awareness with a low right-handed effort, followed by the palming away of the rebound, which nearly bounced into the back of the net.
On the stroke of the 90th minute, the relentless Middlesbrough train continued as Mikel found Downing with a magnificent through ball which wasn’t available to the naked eye of the Championship quality players on the field. Mikel’s ball however, wasn’t given the finish it deserved as Downing’s effort was more suited to rugby, than football.
With the 90-minute complete, referee Darren Bond added on a surprisingly low 3 minutes of time, following the injury to George Friend and Boro’s substitutions and time-wasting.
After Amari’i Bell was deservedly named as Rovers’ sponsor’s Man of the Match, following an uplifting 45 minutes by the left-back, Rovers’ last chance to salvage something from the game came with a 93rd minute corner, which saw David Raya make the trip into the Boro box. The subsequent set-piece, taken by Harrison Reed was wide, but fell to Elliott Bennett whose nod towards goal narrowly missed Armstrong’s head, which would have diverted it away from the onrushing Randolph, who successfully claimed the loose ball, which claimed the points for the Teesside team.
With Tony Mowbray set to pass the 2-year mark at the helm of the club next Friday, (22nd February), he will take some solace in knowing that today’s game was always going to be a tough task due to Middlesbrough’s strength – a team who he should have arguably known inside out. An impressive statistic appeared on Sky Sports, when re-watching the game, which showed that, Middlesbrough have not gone onto lose a game after taking the lead in the Championship for 75 games – (67 victories and 8 draws) – since March 2015 which saw them lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, a record which harks back to the reign of promotion winning boss, Aitor Karanka. Such a statistic was never going to bode well for Rovers, regardless of whether they had control of the ball or not.
After losing on Sky Sports – (as the featured game) – for the first-time under Tony Mowbray – which includes the first four-in-a-row of losses under the boss, as well – Rovers will have some serious thinking and assessment to do on Monday morning following their lacklustre first-half performance which led to the away sides’ dominance. Although you could feel the quality of Tony Pulis’ side oozing out onto the Ewood Park pitch, Rovers never really conjured up a plan to stop them and pull the game in their favour, as seen by the stats of Boro’s 26 shots to Rovers’ 5, with 7 on target to 1, respectively, although the possession was equal at 50-50. Despite multiple changes in system throughout the first-half, the red card to Derrick Williams, which was the correct decision in retrospect, summed up the whole first 45 minutes from a Rovers perspective, which left the home side in the mire for the rest of the tie.
Whilst there’s not too much scope for praising opposition players and criticising your own, John Obi Mikel who had recently returned from a stint in China, showed today why he had been mainstay in Chelsea’s side for over a decade. His vision, awareness and passing ability was a class above everyone else on the pitch, whilst his defensive capabilities stifled Bradley Dack, not allowing him a sniff offensively. Contrastingly, Rovers’ own veteran of the game, Charlie Mulgrew, did not have his best performance in a Rovers shirt. The captain struggled to deal with the pace of Assombalonga and Fletcher – a good tactical spot by Tony Pulis – whilst his indecisiveness and failure in clearing the ball for both the goal and the sending off, ultimately cost Rovers dearly.
Mikel’s positioning also made it harder for Rovers to operate their game plan of playing off Danny Graham, which left the half-spaces between Boro’s 5-man defence and their midfield, which would have normally been occupied by Bradley Dack, vacant, which hindered Rovers’ attacking momentum, due to them not being able to fluidly form an attacking move.
With the critical analysis of the tie over, the table after 33 games looks a lot less rosy than it did 4 games ago, as Rovers now find themselves in 14th place with 43 points and a -7-goal difference. Despite being 14 points off the dreaded relegation zone, Mowbray’s men will have to settle for a season of disappointing mid-table mediocrity following their downturn in form, with the playoff spots 10 points away.
Rovers now move onto their final match in February, which comes next Saturday, (23rd), as they travel to St. Andrew’s to face mid-table Birmingham City. Following that, Mowbray’s men remain on the road as they head to Yorkshire to face relegation threatened Rotherham United on Saturday, 2nd March. The Blues’ third game in quick succession sees them return to Ewood Park to face local rivals Preston North End on Saturday, 9th March – at a 12pm kick-off – in the hope of exacting revenge for the 4-1 mauling at Deepdale in November.
